How Old Is Kobe Bryant?

How old is Kobe Bryant? Kobe is 34 years old. Born Aug. 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, the L.A. Lakers guard has packed a lot of living into his 34 years. Since being drafted out of high school, he’s won five NBA championships, made 14 All-Star teams, and twice captured the league’s scoring title. As a member of the U.S. Olympic team, Bryant has also earned two gold medals, and despite a handful of controversies—most notably the allegations of sexual assault that surfaced in 2003—he remains a popular player and force on the court. In the 2011-12 season, he came within 38 points of capturing yet another scoring crown.

At 34 years old, Kobe Bryant is no has-been, but he’s one of the NBA’s older superstars. Between 1993 and 2012, Sporting News reports, the average age of NBA All Stars was 27.5 years old. Interestingly, back in 1997, at the age of 19, Kobe became the youngest player to ever make the All Star team. If he’s still balling in seven years, he’ll have a chance to tie fellow Lakers alum Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who became the oldest-ever All Star when he made the squad at the age of 41.

How does 34-year-old Kobe Bryant compare with, say, 34-year-old Michael Jordan? By that age, Jordan had led the league in scoring nine times and been named MVP of the NBA Finals five times, according to Bleacher Report. Interestingly, Jordan was 34 years old during Kobe’s rookie season, and that year, Bryant averaged a mere 7.6 points per game.